Thursday, 2 July 2015

Illori one to keep for Rodgers

Despite
losing out in the final of theEuropean Under 21 championshipsthe Portugal side, who swept aside the
much fancied Germany 5-0 in the semi final can certainly take heart from the
way they performed. A few of those players will be hoping to be able to link up
with the full senior squad for the Euros in France next summer.

Whilst,
Bernardo Silva, Joao Mario and Segio Olivera stole many of the plaudits for the
way Portugal attacked, especially against Germany, this Portugal side was built
on a very solid defensive base. Portugal conceded just once in the entire
tournament and that was in a group game against the Swedes when their
qualification was all but assured.

Brendan
Rodgers secured the services of Nathaniel Clyne earlier this week but most
people still think Liverpool need more cover at centre back, especially if
Sebastian Coates is to move to Sunderland and given that Emre Can is expected
to play more of a midfield role next season. Whilst an experienced centre half
is undoubtedly a priority Rodgers will have been pleased by the performances ofThiago Illorifor Portugal in this tournament.

Despite
having been at Liverpool for a few seasons Illori is yet to feature and spent
last season on loan withBordeauxin France. Whilst Portugal struggled
later on against Sweden, especially with more direct play, they had the best
defensive record in the tournament and Illori was a big part of that.

In fact
he was absent through injury when Portugal conceded their only goal and also
missed the game against Germany through injury. It speaks volumes of his
performance levels that Rui Jorge was willing to bring him in and alter the
side that performed so well in the semi final.

At 6’ 2”
Illori is a towering presence and his size could certainly help given
Liverpool’s frailty at set pieces last season, he won 2.8 aerial duels per game
suggesting that he is actually strong in the air. One of the features of his
game which will certainly have enamoured him to Rodgers is his passing ability,
in the four games he featured in Illori had a pass accuracy of 87.3%, fourth
highest in the Portugal side. This is no fluke, in his time with Bordeaux
Illori had a pass accuracy of 86.8%. Playing out from the back is how Rodgers
likes to his sides up and so you’d expect Illori to slot right in.

For
Bordeaux he will have gained plenty of experience, playing in games against the
likes of PSG and Lille. In the 12 games he played in Ligue 1, Illori picked up
just two yellow cards, suggesting he has a good level of discipline.

As part
of a Portugal defence that kept out England and Harry Kane, Illori helped do
something that many Premier League defenders could only dream of. He certainly
isn’t the finished article yet but given Rodgers ability to develop young
players and Liverpool’s lack of defensive cover Illori will be one Rodgers
would be wise to keep around the squad.